Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 218

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Mmm… you certainly have a way with numbers.”
“It’s all thanks to the Empress Consort for letting us pass so easily.”
If the Empress Consort hadn’t been the gracious woman she was, and had instead sent word to Sera the moment we stepped foot in the Mansion, we would have had no choice but to turn back. A direct confrontation with Sera would put Cecilia at a disadvantage, and if things went wrong, it might appear that I was kidnapping Sera’s Sunbird to blackmail her into withdrawing from the imperial succession. Not that the appearance would be entirely inaccurate.
“Where do you plan to go?”
“The Crown Princess Palace is the only place Sera can’t easily access and where we can have a proper conversation.”
The Bachelor would surely throw another fit about the Crown Princess Palace not being a meeting venue, but what could I do? I had only myself to blame for providing such excellent service every time I visited.
“I have a condition. If you tell me the source of these rumors, return me to my original location.”
“You can find your own way back without my help.”
“Return me to my original location! Please!”
“Fine, stop making such a fuss.”
That temperament of his.
The way he constantly shrieked and fumed like that was what gave him stomach problems. As evidence, Sunbird had just clutched his stomach again. His insides must be burning.
“If you could use teleportation, things would be easier for us too.”
“I’ve told you countless times I don’t have that ability!”
Well, I’m used to it by now. I suppose he wants to maintain that particular concept.
I covered my ears and stepped onto the balcony, attaching ice wings to each person. With practice, I’d become skilled enough to manipulate four wings simultaneously.
“Hey! Why do you always make me spin around like that?!”
“On purpose.”
If he didn’t want me to call the Empress Consort for a kiss, he should have kept quiet. When I made my threat, Reina decided spinning was preferable to a kiss and surrendered to the gentle rotation.

◇ ◆ ◇

“How many times must I tell you this isn’t a meeting place!”
Bachelor, you need to expand your repertoire. I’ve heard that complaint so many times that I’ve finally gotten it exactly right.
I walked into Seian Cafe with Seian and whispered instructions to Young Seian Mark III to prepare the herbal tea that Cecilia favored. He must be exhausted from the trip to the Conference Hall and all that socializing, so when he returns home and catches this scent, it will lift his spirits.
“Look at this guy being all considerate.”
“Evan, you have quite the delicate side, don’t you.”
“What? Why is ordering herbal tea delicate? Because it’s decaf?”
Seian, you’ve lived all these years with Cecilia and know nothing about her. I understand the impulse—she ruled over you through violence and fear, after all—but still.
“Cecilia likes herbal teas that taste bitter like poison but smell fragrant.”
“This guy prepares it in advance knowing that.”
“Humans are heavily influenced by their sense of smell. When she returns home and encounters a familiar, pleasant scent, her mind will find peace.”
Well, I learned that from Gerth! Back when I’d finish my rounds at the Ilram Market and return to the Tower, Gerth would always have a bowl of persimmon punch with pine nuts ready. The moment I stepped onto the Boss Floor, the cinnamon scent would drift up, and my mood would brighten.
“Hey! You don’t even know what I like, but you’re all about Cecilia!”
“Honey milk shake.”
“Ugh!”
For both the original Seian and the current one, milk shakes are a symbol of luxury. Whenever he saved money, he’d rush off to buy one. Even when he treated me to ice cream, claiming he’d buy me something nice, he’d purchase a mass-produced milk shake that could be melted by hand, his fingers trembling from the pain of spending the money.
That was already two years ago. Time really does fly.
“Ugh! Crown Princess Cecilia really drinks this? There’s no actual poison in it, right?”
“It tastes like poison, but contains none.”
“How would you know what poison tastes like?”
“Because I’ve tasted it.”
I possess immunity to all poisons. I’ve tested most toxins. Thanks to Kanna’s extensive collection of various poisons, I’ve sampled quite a variety and am now at the level of a poison connoisseur. When I confidently stated that no poison tastes like this, both Reina and Sunbird suddenly grew solemn.
“Well, you were a duke’s daughter after all.”
“You’ve walked a difficult path, haven’t you.”
They seem to be misunderstanding something, but it’s too troublesome to explain, so I’ll leave it. I advised them to ignore the taste of the tea and enjoy its fragrance instead, then took a sip. The scent was lovely and the flavor pleasantly bitter—it paired wonderfully with sweet rice cakes.
“So then, would you tell us where you heard that ridiculous rumor?”
“I refuse.”
I answered firmly, and Sunbird pressed his lips into a thin line, swallowing his anger. Then he made a calm proposal.
“If you won’t tell me, then return me to my original position.”
“I refuse that too.”
“Why did you even bring me here then!”
This fellow doesn’t suspect for a moment that we mean him harm. Has his accumulated database as a regressor given him such confidence? That must be why he socially destroyed Evan Laef yet still pursued a plan to keep me alive to maintain our relationship.
“You have a tendency to be blindly faithful to your own experience.”
“It’s not blind faith—it’s simply what happened.”
“There’s something I want to show someone who thinks they’ve experienced everything!”
“You’re not listening to me, are you?”
Sunbird gently rubbed his chest, speaking of walls he’d encountered many times before. At that moment, the attendants bustled about, and word reached us that Cecilia had returned.
“Is this a group study session today?”
Academy students certainly are busy. As Cecilia appeared with a joke, Sunbird’s expression turned cold, and Seian quietly slipped behind me.
I greeted Cecilia warmly, saying it was good to see her again, and walked forward. I approached right up to her face and flicked her forehead with my finger. Cecilia tilted her head in confusion, while Reina, Sunbird, and Seian all held their breath in shock.
“There goes that insolent fool again!”
The Bachelor had tried to strangle me with a chokehold, and everyone feared Cecilia would lose her temper. Yet Cecilia herself, puzzling over what my flick to the forehead meant, crouched beside me and flicked my forehead in return with an exasperated sigh, as if to say: what could you possibly have done wrong?
“No matter how I think about it, I can’t find a reason to scold you.”
“Look at this! Cecilia has become incredibly soft!”
I cried out just before my vision darkened from the chokehold. Fearing I might actually die this time, I slapped the floor twice in desperation, and the Bachelor finally relented, promising to let me go just this once. I gasped for breath, savoring the sweet relief of survival.
“Are you truly risking your life just to show me that?”
When Sunbird spoke of risking life, it was merely a figure of speech. Logically, if I wished to escape, it would be child’s play. But had Cecilia remained as she once was, I would never set foot in the Empire again—I would have been branded a fugitive and exiled abroad.
“Exactly! So no matter what happens next, you can rest easy!”
“That is… what do you mean…?”
Finally, the drug was taking effect. Sunbird clutched his head, swaying dizzily. In truth, I had whispered to Young Seian Mark III earlier to slip a sleeping draught into only his tea. I had deliberately chosen the bitter tea and created a smokescreen about poison for precisely this reason.
“I poisoned your tea!”
“Eeeek!”
“Ehhh?!”
“Oh my.”
As Sunbird collapsed forward, his face planting into the plush carpet, Seian and Reina gasped in shock while Cecilia feigned surprise. When they asked why I would do such a thing, I answered boldly: to resolve the current crisis quickly.
“I’ll use his life to blackmail Sera into withdrawing from the succession!”
“Eeeek!”
“Ehhh?!”
“Oh my.”
But Cecilia was skeptical of my plan. She said Sera would never abandon the throne over something so trivial. I shook my head and spoke honestly.
“Sera will give it up. Because Sera possesses a human heart.”
“That sounds like you’re saying I don’t have one.”
“You don’t.”
The Bachelor seized my throat again. But Cecilia, intrigued, ordered him to release me, saying she wanted to see how this would unfold.
Perhaps because Sera had recently gained independence from Sunbird and developed the strength to think for herself, it wasn’t long before Imperial Guards surrounded the Crown Princess Palace, and Sera stood at the gate, calling out boldly.
“You coward, Evan! Return Sunbird to me!”
The fact that she pinpointed me as the culprit suggested she had visited Mother in the meantime. I held Sunbird in one hand and walked outside confidently, conjuring an ice spike. As I pointed its sharp tip at Sunbird’s throat, Sera screamed and begged me to stop.
“Evan! Stop this! Please, save Sunbird!”
“If you don’t want to see this bird die, withdraw from the succession right now!”
“That is…!”
After a long moment of anguish, Sera squeezed her eyes shut and cried out: “I can’t!” She insisted that Sunbird’s life was not something she could negotiate with, and asked me to find another way.
In that moment, I understood the truth. Sera had never cared about the throne. She had said her role was to be a tool of the Imperial Court. So why was she so desperately determined to succeed to the throne?
The reason was our dead father. All evidence pointed to Cecilia as the assassin of the Previous Emperor, so Sera had decided that she could not allow Cecilia to become Emperor—she had to protect the Imperial Court and the Empire. Thus, she had no choice but to step forward herself, as the one most likely to succeed to the throne next. After all, Sera was merely a tool to protect the Imperial Court and the Empire.
So I would add another life to Sunbird’s to sweeten my offer.
“Sera, you’re mistaken about something! Cecilia didn’t kill the Previous Emperor!”
“Evan, what could you possibly know…!”
“I’ll stake my life on it!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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